Source: Three critical steps to an ethical and sustainable supply chain – UNSW BusinessThink
Supply chains are being scrutinised more than ever before.
There is an increasing demand for ethical and sustainable supply chains from consumers (that’s you), regulators (eg government) and shareholders.
An organisation’s supply chain can stretch across the world and include many countries. Manufacturers can unwittingly be buying raw materials or services that exacerbate social issues and environmental degradation.
There is no excuse for organisations not to create ethical and sustainable practices, particularly given recent advances in regulation, law reform and technology.
One example of legislation is Australia’s Modern Slavery Act, where there are serious consequences for companies that don’t comply.
Three steps to encourage businesses toward ethical and sustainable supply chains are:
1. Regulatory systems, like governments, require supply chains to comply with laws such as the Modern Slavery Act, and if they don’t, there are serious consequences.
2. Encourage organisations to make use of existing technology and data to better understand their supply chains.
3. Ensure that claims of being ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainable’ are backed by evidence.
